HELLO:
i am not a gunsmith, but i like making gun alterations if they will improve my shooting. years ago i purchased an old style bt99 made in 1975. i could not shoot this gun worth a darn. it appeared to shoot very high. in the past, i have had numerous old style bt99's and most shot 3 high, which i consider a flat shooting trap gun. i took the gun out of my safe and decided to pattern the gun. sure enough, it was shooting a pattern 100% high which for my style of shooting is just to high. as i was looking over the gun, i noticed that the cut on the stock was made at an extreme angle inorder to give the gun zero down pitch. with me being overweight and big chested i normally need alot of down pitch. so i decide to recut the stock straight up and down and reshape the recoil pad. i then took the gun out to a local club to shoot a practice round and i could not believe that this gun should now be classified as a "smoke pole" it was scarey the way this gun now hit targets. so i went back to 24 yds, where i shoot the winter 30 bird events and i think i have found the magic wand. so in conclusion, if your gun is not shooting the way you would like, take a look at the angle that the stock has been cut. you might like the less recoil and the way the gun shoots by cutting the stock straight up and down.
steve balistreri

Neil:
the stock was cut at an angle, when i placed the stock up against a door jam the barrel was snug up against the door jam, that means zero or no down pitch. when i mounted the gun like that, i saw a large amount of rib between the beads, causing the gun to shoot extremely high for me. so when i recut the stock straight up and down i took about 1/4 inch off the toe of the stock. when i placed the gun back up against the door jam, the barrel was down from the jam instead of right up against it, causing down pitch. the bigger chested you are, usually you need more down pitch. when i remounted the gun, i then saw a figure 8, instead of almost all rib. i patterned the gun again, it went from shooting 100% high or 1 full pattern high to me being able to just touch the bottom of the target, instead of me having to float the target. years ago, league shooters, gun clubs etc, if they didn't have a bonifide trap gun to shoot, or needed rental guns for the clubs they cut the stocks at a more extreme angle to make the gun appear to shoot higher. i have a friend, x wisconsin state team member, who actually shoots a gun with reverse pitch.
steve balistreri

i stand corrected, more pitch is positive pitch, not negative. i could have just taken the toe off the pad but it doesn't look as good. it's true, when you start making alterations to a gun, it sometimes is hit and miss.
steve

Senior Moment makes absolutely no mention of the proper shooting form used by most successful shooters. It's obvious to me he hasn't mastered the myriad complex geometrical inter-relationships described in Rollin's book.

...I'll bet you fifty bucks he's back to shooting like shit within a week.

You could buy and install a cheap Morgan pad which has a pitch adjustment feature to try before wacking on your stock. Changing the length of your stock on a BT will change your cheek highth as the comb is not horizonal with the rib. If I remember correctly the heel has a 9/16" compared to a 1/2" drop closer to the pistol grip. Post-2